


Think About Summer

by past piginawig (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, minor harry/louis, minor zayn/liam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-26
Updated: 2012-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-19 14:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/574074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/past%20piginawig
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam is a pool boy. Harry is his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Think About Summer

Harry Styles looks forward to summer, and has since the year he was fourteen and Robin bought that bungalow down the road from their actual house, the one with the game room and the big flat screen telly and the long bar and the waterbed in the guest bedroom and the inground pool in the backyard.

  
What came along with said inground pool was weekly cleanings. Robin and Anne were both busy with work, and Gemma usually laughed in the face of manual labor, and Harry attempted to clean the pool but accidentally put too much chlorine in that one time he tried and then he only got out about half the bugs and leaves and grass before he decided it was a job well done and it was time to go swimming.

  
Anne just patted Harry on his curly head and called him "pet", and then pulled out the phone book and dialed up Miller's Pool Company.

  
And so a weekly appointment was set up for the summer time months, followed by bi-weekly appointments for the colder parts of the year, and Harry was put in charge of being at the bungalow while Miller's pool boy was doing his work.

  
*

  
"It's Tuesday, Harry," Anne's voice sounded against Harry's ear.

  
"Thanks?"

  
A sigh. "The pool boy should be arriving in the next half hour. Are you at the bungalow?"

  
Harry looked down at himself, naked and in his bed, game console controller in his lap. Anne took his silence as an answer.

  
"Get down there, now," she said.

  
The call ended and Harry saved his game (because that was of the upmost importance) and glanced at his floor, surveying which articles of clothing looked the least frumpy. He decided quickly that none of the underwear would do, he would simply have to find a new pair to wear, but his black basketball shorts and blue t shirt would both be perfectly acceptable.

  
After he finished dressing Harry left the house and walked the three minutes it took to arrive at the bungalow. It was as he was fishing out his key that a boy that looked about his age on a bicycle pulled up the drive and stopped. Harry glanced at the boy confusedly. 

  
"Hullo," he called to him. The boy glanced up from where he was setting up his kickstand and paused for a moment before smiling and waving. Harry furrowed his eyebrows. He hoped he wasn't selling some type of goody, like sweets or biscuits, because Harry was out of money and he had a terrible time of telling people no.

  
But the boy pulled out a folder from the basket attached to the front of his bike and marched right up to Harry and stuck a hand out. Harry cautiously took the hand and shook it.

  
"My name's Liam Payne and I'm here on behalf of Miller's Pool company to clean your pool," Liam Payne of Miller's Pool Company announced.

  
"I'm Harry," Harry said, "and I have a pool."

  
Liam's brown eyes squinted for a quick second before they opened up widely again. "Well, as was discussed on the phone, I'll be using the equipment you already have here to clean out any debris and to scrub the waterline, and then I'll put in a new chlorine tablet which I brought, and that's it. Any questions?"

  
"How old are you?" Harry asked without thinking, and then backtracked when Liam looked affronted. "It's just, you can't be much older than me, and no where I've heard of will hire if you're under sixteen. Also you're riding a bike."

  
"Um," Liam said, "my uncle is the Miller of Miller's Pool Company. I'm fourteen. Fifteen at the end of August, though."

  
"Oh, that makes sense," Harry agreed, and then, "well, here, let me show you to the backyard."

  
And Liam followed Harry through the bungalow and into the yard where he immediately got to work. Harry sat at the little table set up on the patio and watched.

  
"Um, Harry," Liam said, after he finished fishing out a particularly large dead bug, "do you think maybe you could not stare at me so much? Or you could talk to me. Staring makes me uncomfortable because of the-"

  
Harry waited for Liam to finish but he didn't.

  
"Sorry, mate, didn't realize I was doing it, to be honest. We can talk. Where are you from, Liam?"

  
"Well, I live in Wolverhampton with my Mum and Dad and two sisters, but Dad lost his job last month and has been working too hard for not enough money, so I offered to stay with my Aunt and Uncle here in Holmes Chapel, in order to save them money with one less mouth to feed, and to make some money to bring home at the end of the summer," Liam explained. He continued dragging the long net through the water, catching leaves and grass as he went.

  
"That's really good of you," Harry told him genuinely. "I dunno if I'd be able to leave my family like that. Not quite independent enough yet, really."

  
"I've only just arrived last week and it's already difficult, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.  I'd do anything to help my family when they need it."

  
Harry shook his curls out of his eyes. "You're a really good person, Liam Payne."

  
Liam blushed and shook his head. He muttered something, but Harry was too far away to hear. It didn't seem to be meant for his ears, anyway.

  
After their first encounter, Harry found himself excited for Tuesday afternoons. He would wake up early and count the minutes until Liam would show up at the bungalow, chlorine tablet in his pocket and grin on his face. The two became fast friends, Harry sitting at the table and Liam doing his work, chatting about anything and everything.

  
"Harry," Liam said, as he began working on the fourth Tuesday that summer, "have you ever had a girlfriend?"

  
Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Sort of? I mean, we said we were going out, right? But we never did anything, never saw each other outside of school. I walked her to class for a week, and then she said she liked Johnny McEntire better."

Liam snickered. "That's unfortunate, mate."

  
"Nah, not really," Harry answered truthfully. "Wasn't really into it, myself. Felt weird. Maybe ten was too young for a relationship, anyway."

  
Liam laughed even harder. Harry grinned widely.

  
On the eighth Tuesday, Harry asked if Liam could stay after he finished his work, just to hang out.

  
"Oh!" Liam exclaimed, as though this came out of left field. Harry just stood, waiting, hiding the nerves bubbling in his stomach at the thought of what he thought was a new friend rejecting him. "Well, I can't, because I've got another job to go to, but... I'm off on Sundays?"

  
Harry smiled and said, "You should come over Sunday. You can actually swim in the pool without cleaning it, and we can play video games and eat junk food. Sound good?"

  
Liam nodded, smile so big the corners of his eyes crinkled up.

  
On the last Tuesday before the end of summer, Harry sat glumly and quietly while Liam scrubbed the water line of the pool. They were usually quiet while Liam did this, his efforts making it hard to speak.

  
"So you head back Friday, then?" Harry asked, once Liam had finished and was putting in a new chlorine tab.

  
"Yeah," Liam confirmed sadly, staring at the ground. "Mum's coming to get me, and I start school on Monday."

  
"I'm starting a new school on Monday," Harry said, effectively changing the subject. "Gemma and I've always gone to private school, but Gem wants to try out public school, so..."

  
"Wow," Liam commented. "Are you nervous?"

  
Harry shrugged. "Guess so. I'll have to make all new friends."

  
"But you're good at that," Liam laughed, "you made me your friend right away!"

  
Harry shrugged again. "We'll see. Anyway. Are you coming back next summer?"

  
"Dunno," Liam answered quietly. 

  
"I hope you do."

  
"Yeah," Liam agreed. "Me too."

\-----------

Harry was absolutely positive his heart was about to beat out of his chest as he waited for the pool boy to arrive. It was the first Tuesday of summer and Harry sat on the front steps of the bungalow anxiously to see who would arrive in the next ten minutes to clean the pool in the backyard. Finally Harry heard the tell-tale sound of a basket bouncing against handlebars and he couldn’t fight the grin that overtook his face.

Liam was back.

Harry didn’t bother waiting for Liam to set his kickstand up, already rushing over to him and enveloping him in a giant hug.

  
“Miss me?”

  
Harry barked a laugh and relaxed as Liam returned his hug.

  
“I was worried you wouldn’t be coming back this year,” Harry admitted later, while Liam dragged the net through the pool. 

  
“I wasn’t going to, really,” Liam said, “because Dad found a good job and the family was back on its feet and all. But I told my parents I had a lot of fun last summer, and this year I would be able to actually use my earnings for myself. I’m saving up for a car, see, I turn sixteen at the end of August.”

  
“So basically you came to see me, right?” Harry grinned cheekily.

  
“Yeah,” Liam agreed with a laugh. “I came to see you.”

  
“Good, I expected nothing less. So, anyway. How was your year?”

  
Liam launched into stories about his year at school, but Harry noticed sometimes he would stop in the middle of what he was saying and switch topics. Every time this happened Liam would glance down at his feet and stumble over his words before picking up on a new story. Harry wanted to ask so badly what Liam was keeping from him but didn’t want to push. He was scared if he pushed too much that Liam would close up.

  
“What about you? Anything interesting happen?”

  
Harry shrugged. He wasn’t sure how Liam would react to the big events that had transpired for him over the year. “Hey, you want to stay the night this weekend? Mum said I could have a friend stay over with me at the bungalow as long as we promise not to burn the place down or anything.”

  
Liam grinned widely as he pulled the net out of the pool and grabbed the scrubbing brush.

  
“I’d love to.”

  
*

  
It was six o’clock on the dot when Liam arrived at the bungalow, waving his goodbye to his uncle who nodded back and drove away. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and swimming trunks already on. Harry ushered him in and showed him to the lone bedroom where he could put his belongings.

  
“Ready to swim, I take it?” Harry asked. Liam’s grin was bright as he nodded enthusiastically.

  
“I clean pools every day but I haven’t actually swam in one other than that day I spent over here last summer,” Liam said as they stepped out into the backyard. Harry had quickly changed into his own bathing suit, not bothering with a shirt.

  
Harry immediately cannonballed into the water, making a huge splash. When he surfaced, he shook his hair out all around him, annoyed at his curls and how they acted when wet.

  
He could hear Liam’s laugh from the steps. “I forgot how much you look like baby Tarzan when you’re wet.”

  
Harry turned to glare at his friend halfheartedly when he caught sight of Liam. He was emerged into the pool up to his waist but he had taken his t-shirt off, revealing a toned chest and muscled abs that had not been present the year before. Liam didn’t notice Harry’s blatant dropped jaw and widened eyes, however, and for that Harry was grateful. In the end he just choked out, “Yeah, well.”

  
Liam finally immersed himself completely in the water and Harry breathed a sigh of relief until, “Hey, wanna set up the volleyball net?”

  
And so Liam and Harry climbed out of the pool and disentangled the net from all the other pool supplies and toys from the shed and quickly set it up. Harry did his very best to ignore Liam’s dripping wet abs and after a while it wasn’t so difficult. Sometimes Liam would jump up to spike the ball over the net and wet muscles would flex not a foot from Harry’s face and cause a rather warm and tingly sensation in the pit of his belly, but a boy can really only do so much to control that kind of thing.

  
The two played around for a few hours before Harry suggested they order a pizza. 

  
“Good thing,” Liam said, “I’m starved from all that volleyball.”

  
“Yeah, I hear losing requires a lot of energy,” Harry said with a smirk.

  
“Hey! By one point!”

  
“Still one more point than you,” Harry sing-songed as he turned on the computer to order the pizza online.

  
“Wanna watch some telly while we’re waiting? Said it’d be about twenty-five minutes.”

  
Liam nodded his head and they made their way into the den and plopped on the leather couch without bothering to dry themselves.

  
“The leather will dry,” Harry reasoned, “and Mum will never know.”

  
The boys immediately decided on a  _Friends_ marathon that was playing and got through the last ten minutes of one episode and the first twenty of the next before the pizza arrived.

  
They sat and ate their pizza in front of the telivision, Liam carefully wiping the grease off his hands before touching anything and Harry refusing to use a plate and laughing when Liam shrieked  _germs!_  after he set his pizza on the in table with nothing underneath it.

  
“Do you want to sleep in the bedroom? I’ll take the couch, I don’t mind. Or we could make a huge pallet on the floor in here and sleep there,” Harry suggested.

  
“Definitely the pallet. What’s a sleepover without a pallet, right?”

  
Harry barked a laugh and shook his head. “We should change into pyjamas first, then we’ll set it up.”

  
Twenty minutes and twelve ( _twelve_ ) blankets later, an incredibly soft pallet had been laid down on the floor of the den, coffee table pushed aside. Liam, dressed in Batman pyjamas that Harry had laughed at so hard he’d cried, sat eating another piece of pizza, while Harry, dressed in typical Harry fashion in just boxer briefs (Liam’s lucky he even put those on) sat flabberghasted.

  
“That’s your sixth piece of pizza, Liam,” Harry informed. “Where does it even go?”

  
“I dunno, really,” Liam answered between bites, because he was polite enough not to talk with his mouth full. “After I started working out i just got hungry all the time. I eat loads more than I used to.”

  
He accentuated his point with a huge bite.

  
“I noticed you’d been working out,” Harry said, fighting to keep his voice steady because the truth of that statement went farther than he ever wanted Liam to know. “I don’t remember that six-pack last year!”

  
Liam flushed and looked down at his lap. Then he took the last bite of his slice and daintily wiped his fingers on a napkin before getting up to throw it away. Harry sat awkwardly, wondering if he’d said something wrong, before Liam returned and immediately began speaking.

  
“Since I was about twelve I was bullied pretty badly. Dunno why, really, guess because I was so small and polite and they found me an easy target. At first I just took it because it wasn’t so bad getting lunch money stolen and being laughed at during recess, you know? I could handle those things. But then last school year it got worse. Things got a little more physical, I ended up getting beaten up one day after school, even. And they started calling me…” 

  
Liam paused. He hadn’t looked up at Harry since he started talking, but now he did and Harry saw his brown eyes full of unshed tears. He reached for Liam’s hand and grabbed it, squeezing once before letting go. “Hey,” he said, “it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

  
“No, I just,” Liam breathed in. “They called me  _gay_ , and  _fag_ , and  _queer_  - things like that. Said nobody but gays wore their hair like I did. Said they saw me checking out other boys in the locker rooms. And I wasn’t even -“

  
“Liam, Liam,” Harry soothed, hating how upset Liam was getting but not knowing what to do about it.

  
“Sorry, I just…” he trailed off. “So I took up boxing. Started running track, too. Spent every day after school working out and the next time one of them tried to mess with me I - well, to be blunt, I kicked his ass.”

  
Harry chortled.

  
“They uh, they haven’t come near me since. Felt good to be able to defend myself. I’m not a proponent for violence, of course-“

  
“No, of course,” Harry agreed mockingly, a teasing grin on his face. “Violence is never the answer.”

  
“Shove off, Harry,” Liam shoved him. “Anyway, enough about my dramatic school year, what about you? How was the new school?”

  
“It was a… really interesting year. I made friends pretty easily, they just kind of fell into place, you know? But I also… met someone, er, who I liked pretty much immediately. And when it happened, it like, it wasn’t even a surprise I don’t think. Maybe to other people, but I think I kind of always knew, really,” Harry said, beating around the bush. Liam furrowed his eyebrows.

  
“Mate,” he announced, “I am having a lot of trouble following.”

  
“It’s just… His name was Louis.”

  
Liam’s eyes widened for a split second before he smiled. A soft, kind smile that lit up his whole face and crinkled the skin beside his eyes. “I’m really happy for you, mate.”

  
“Don’t be,” Harry groaned, and Liam’s smile dropped. “We kind of - danced around it, I suppose, for a while. Neither of us had really  
been interested in another guy before, you know? But from the beginning we knew, er, nothing could really happen. He’s two years older but he’s three years above us in school. Graduated this year. Moved off for uni. We kissed a few times, which confirmed what little lingering doubt there was, but.”

  
“I’m sorry,” Liam said honestly. Harry released a sigh of relief, the breath he didn’t even realize he was holding rushing out of him. “So are you… Gay?”

  
“No,” Harry answered. “I did quite a lot of research about it, actually. I’m pansexual.”

  
“…As in, attracted to pans?”

  
Harry yelped out a laugh. “No! I don’t really care what gender a person is. It’s more the personality I’m attracted to, really.”

  
“Oh,” Liam said. There was silence, a comfortable one lingering over them, before Liam spoke again, so quietly Harry almost missed it. “Well… I am.”

  
“What?” Harry asked. “Attracted to pans?”

  
Liam chuckled and then frowned. “Um, no, actually.”

  
Harry looked up at the serious tone in Liam’s voice. “You are… what?”

  
“Attracted to… boys,” Liam answered, eyes firmly on the blanket beneath him. Harry noticed his hands shaking, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

  
“Have you ever-” Harry paused. “Have you ever said that before? Out loud?”

  
Liam shook his head quickly. His hands balled up into fists. Harry scooted forward unthinkingly and wrapped his arms around Liam’s shoulders. Liam’s head fell forward instantly, and Harry felt wetness on his neck where Liam had his face nestled.

  
“Thank you,” Harry whispered, squeezing his eyes shut at the sob that escaped Liam’s chest. He breathed out slowly when he felt Liam’s hands, warm and solid, against his back. “Thank you for telling me.”

  
*

  
The rest of the summer passed uneventfully. Harry dutifully waited for Liam to arrive every Tuesday and sat outside and talked to him while he did his work. They never mentioned their conversation that night, nor did they mention the way they woke up the next morning - curled against each other with their hands clasped tightly together between them. It was all in their eyes - the brown  _thank you_ , the green  _you’re welcome_.

  
It brought them closer in a way they couldn’t explain. Where before they’d felt the need to fill silence with inane chatter, now they were able to sit in comfortable silence, soaking up each other’s presence wordlessly. Harry always greeted Liam with a hug and Liam spent any of his free time at the bungalow with Harry. He even spent one night at Harry’s actual house, when Anne was finally insistent enough on meeting Harry’s favorite friend.

  
Finally, though, Liam’s last day in town arrived.

  
“So you promise you’ll be back next year, yeah?” Harry checked.

  
Liam laughed. “Yes, Harry, I’ve only promised you ten times in the past hour.”

  
“Just making sure!”

  
“Right,” Liam grinned. His smile dropped though, and he sighed. “Guess I better go.”

  
Harry nodded and shuffled his feet. When Liam made no move to leave, Harry reached out and pulled him in, clinging tightly to the broad shoulders in front of him. Liam finally pulled back after a few moments, when it was obvious Harry didn’t plan on letting go.

  
“I’m not going to miss you at all,” Harry sniffed, the sound betraying his words.

  
Liam laughed, eyes wet. “Yes you are.”

  
“Yeah,” Harry agreed, leaning in for one more hug.

  
“I really have to go now, Harry,” Liam said.

  
“Yeah, but you’re not letting go.”

  
Harry regretted his words as soon as Liam pulled back.

  
“See you next summer.”

  
“Yeah,” Harry said, watching as Liam walked away. “See you.”

\-------------

"You look like Justin Bieber," is the first thing Harry said to Liam when he saw him. And then, "You got a car!"

And then Liam said, "Isn't it awesome? It's used and the A/C doesn't work properly but it's all mine," then he frowned, "and no, I do not look like Justin Bieber!"

Harry just guffawed and pulled his friend in for a hug. "Did you manage to get even  _more_  ripped? This may become a problem, Liam. I won't have a bodybuilder for a friend. They creep me out."

Liam didn't even bother with a response, just pulled at a curl hanging off of Harry's forehead and watched it bounce back. Harry's nose scrunched up and he batted Liam's hand away. "Well, come on then, the pool isn't going to clean itself."

Liam scoffed but followed Harry to the backyard anyway. "How was your year?"

"Eh," Harry answered, taking a seat and propping his legs up on the table. Liam raised an eyebrow but otherwise ignored it. "Nothing really happened. Got a job at a bakery in town, though, so I'm able to actually go out and do things even if Mum or Gemma or Robin have to take me."

"Well  _now_ ," Liam grinned, "I can take you!"

"Brilliant!"

"And," Liam continued, "since I've got my car I have a big cut on how many hours I'm working. In fact, I'm only working Tuesdays and Thursdays now, so we'll have way more time to hang out. As long as you aren't working, that is."

"I work Monday through Thursday, usually the morning shift. I'm out of there by lunchtime. So you're not doing anything tonight? You could stay over and we could go see a movie or something!"

Liam laughed loudly. "A little eager there, aren't you, Harry?"

Harry blushed. "Just don't have many friends here, is all."

"Really?" Liam questioned, shock etched on his face. "I would've guessed you'd have a great ton of mates, you're so easy to get along with."

"It's a bit of a depressing story, really. We can talk all about it tonight, though, yeah?" Liam nodded and went back to work. Harry sank back in his chair and frowned at the memories of the beginning of his school year. "You got anything interesting we can talk about?"

Liam shrugged. "I made a friend."

"Uh," Harry squinted in confusion. "Congratulations?"

Liam chuckled. "I've never been good at making friends. Especially when I was being bullied. But a new kid moved to my school and he was really quiet, kind of like me, and one day he just started sitting with me at lunch. Said we were both alone, why not be lonely together? And after that neither of us were really lonely anymore."

Harry felt something in his stomach drop. He'd known things had been hard for Liam what with the bullying, but he never realized how truly alone he'd been. "I'm sorry, Li."

"Why would you be sorry? You were my first real friend, you know? Zayn's great, and I'm happy we became mates, but..." he paused. "I'd still say you're my best friend."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, ignoring the way his heart felt like it was going to beat out of its chest.

"Anyway," Liam said, "what movie shall we see?"

*

The boys had set up their pallet in the den of the bungalow again. They both were leaned back against pillows, chatting about the movie they'd seen earlier.

"You never told me about your school year," Liam pointed out during a lull in the conversation. Harry sighed. "I mean, you don't have to, or anything..."

"No, it's just..." Harry glanced up, green eyes lit with something akin to sadness. "When I moved schools two years ago I lost all my friends, right? Had to start all over and everything. And that first year I made friends, and of course there was Louis. And at the time some of them questioned if something was going on with Louis and I but I lied, said we were just mates. And then at the beginning of the school year Louis came down to visit for a weekend and all of us went to hang out with him and he told us over the summer at uni he'd gotten a boyfriend. 

"I was a little upset, at first, but I realized it was mostly jealousy. Not jealous that Lou had a boyfriend or anything, because those feelings were gone, but jealous that he was  _out_  and  _happy_. Our friends didn't seem to react badly to Lou being gay and having a boyfriend, but a few weeks later when  _I_  came out for some reason  _that_  was different. It wasn't like they called me names or beat me up, they just... Slowly stopped hanging around me. Ignored my phone calls, moved away when I went to sit with them, that kind of thing."

"Harry -"

"No, it's okay," Harry interrupted. "About two months into the school year a new kid moved here. Kind of like your new friend, I guess. His name's Niall. He's loud and crazy and outgoing and funny, and he's able to make friends with anyone he meets. Soon as he got to school he was instantly popular. Everyone wanted to be his friend and all the girls wanted to date him, and his fourth day there he asked why I was by myself. Someone must've told him about my sexuality because the next thing I know he's going off on one of my old friends. Asking why liking boys should change whether you can be friends with a person, asking if they wouldn't want to hang out with him if he liked boys, too."

"So he's gay, then?" Liam asked.

Harry smiled softly. "No. He let them think it for a while, to make a point. Soon as he said it he came and sat with me, introduced himself and said the whole lot of 'em were cunts."

Liam looked horrified.

"His words, not mine," Harry chuckled. Liam relaxed. "And we were friends, just like that. Neither of us can drive so we walked to and from school together, because it turns out he lives a few houses away from me."

"But you said you didn't have anyone to hang out with," Liam said, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "Isn't that what you said?"

"He's back in Ireland for the summer," Harry explained. "Oh yeah, he's Irish. Did I mention that?"

Liam just shook his head.

"Anyway, other than that the school year was a bit boring, really. There was one night, though, when Niall stayed over. He swears that because he's Irish he can drink endlessly and not get drunk, so he brings a twelve pack of beer. I'm down one and he's down three, and he's completely wasted. Giggling at everything, falling over, it was hilarious. And he starts talking about how he thinks he's straight, he  _really_  thinks so,  _but_ -"

"Oh gosh," Liam mumbled, "this is going in a terrifying direction."

Harry chortled. "Oh yes. So he really thinks he's straight, but how can he be sure, right? The saying 'don't knock it 'til you try it' comes from somewhere, right? And I'm saying,  _no, Niall, this is definitely the beer talking_. But he waves me off and says, 'well you like boys, yeah? Do you like me?' and I'm saying, 'yes, Ni, as a mate!' but he won't give up, just leans over and plants one on me. Doesn't even have his lips off mine before he's laughing so hard he's choking. And then he just says, 'yeah, definitely straight'."

Liam cackled, hand covering his mouth. His eyes watered as he laughed and Harry joined in. "And what happened after? Did he remember it when he sobered up?"

"Oh!" Harry said. "The next morning he's laughing for no reason and I ask him what's funny, and he said, 'I kissed you last night. That's hilarious', and then he just asked what was for breakfast. He's a right riot, he is."

"Wow," Liam murmured. "Zayn is certainly not... That crazy."

"No drunken sexuality crisis?" Harry asked with a giggle.

"No," Liam said. "He's never actually... I don't know what he is. He never talked about liking anyone, and when I told him I was, you know... Gay, he just said it was cool. We never talked about it."

"Maybe it's just not important to him right now," Harry suggested. "I mean, we are only sixteen. Some people just aren't interested yet."

Liam nodded. "So you've... You've kissed people. How is that, exactly?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"I've just... I've never done it."

"Never kissed anyone?" 

Liam nodded his confirmation.

"Well, I mean, it's really not a big deal. The first one was a little nervewracking because I didn't know what I was doing. But after that it's nothing, really."

Liam just nodded and changed the subject.

*

Harry and Liam were leaving the movie theater when Harry's mobile began chirping in his pocket. He fished it out and held a finger up for Liam who just shrugged. They climbed into the car as Harry answered, and a loud booming Irish accent filled the car. Liam's eyes widened. Harry just chuckled and had a short conversation with Niall, who felt the need to tell him all about some music festival he'd just attended. The conversation didn't last more than five minutes and as soon as Harry hung up, Liam spoke.

"Good God," he said, "I can't believe you kissed that guy!"

"Hey!" Harry argued, affronted. "He kissed me, thank you. Besides, I told you he was loud. Plus I'm almost positive he was at least a bit tipsy."

" _A bit tipsy_?" Liam said incredulously. Harry just laughed. "I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous though."

"Of what? Being loud and tipsy?"

Liam chuckled and shook his head. "No, what? Just that first kiss experience. I dunno, I've just been thinking about it lately, I suppose. I hate not knowing how to do it and what to expect. When it happens I don't want to look like an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing."

"Liam," Harry said softly. He reached over and squeezed Liam's hand that was resting on the gear shift. "It's okay. Everyone's shit at it their first time. You'll be fine, I promise. 'Sides, you're cute enough that the guy won't even care if you're not great. He'll probably want to spend all his time  _practicing_  with you."

Liam laughed at Harry's wink and cheeky grin. "Shut up."

*

Harry stood in the water, waist deep, fighting a fluttering sensation in the pit of his belly at the sight of Liam in his swim trunks and nothing else.

"Jesus," he muttered, "put a shirt on or something. You're making my pudge cry."

Liam laughed loudly and jumped in, splashing Harry in the process. He swam close to his friend and reached out, poking his belly.

"I'm sorry, Harry-Pudge," Liam said, eyes set on Harry's stomach. Harry let out a bark of laughter, shoving at Liam. In a second it had transformed into a match of strength, trying to dunk each other. Liam had Harry under when Harry wiggled his fingers against Liam's armpits, causing his grip to loosen immediately. "Cheat!"

Harry cackled, his grin cheeky. "There's no rules in dunk wars, Liam. This is the real world."

"What does that even mean?!" Liam shouted, then jumped at Harry who immediately fell beneath the surface of the water. He wrapped his legs around Liam's, pulling with all his strength and trying to get Liam's knees to buckle. When he came back up he was met with Liam laughing, staring at him. 

Harry released, realizing Liam was very much overpowering him.

"You win this time, Payne," he said, pointing a finger at a still laughing Liam. "But you better watch your back."

Liam just laughed harder.

*

"Can't believe you're leaving me," Harry said sadly. Liam was in the driveway of the bungalow, car loaded and ready to head back to Wolverhampton.

"Niall will be back tomorrow, Harry," Liam reminded, his voice quiet. 

Harry shrugged. "Not the same."

"Not the same," Liam repeated softly. They didn't say anything after that. Liam got in his car and drove away, one final wave to Harry before turning at the end of the street. Harry made his way back to his own house, the whole time wishing he'd bucked up at that last moment and given Liam his first kiss before saying goodbye.  
  
\------------

"Fwhengs Wia gumma fee gere?"

  
Harry stared at Niall, eyebrows knit together in confusion. Niall looked right back, chewing the bits of his sandwich that had managed to stay in his mouth during his sentence.

  
"Can you wait until you've swallowed?" Harry asked, a grimace on his face. "I literally have no idea what you've just said."

  
Niall made a show of swallowing his bite and enunciating each word. "When's Liam gonna be here?"

  
Harry sighed and glanced at the digital clock on the cable box beneath the telly. "Dunno. Should've been here an hour ago. He said he'd come-"

  
"-as soon as he drops his stuff off at his uncle's. You've told me. How do you  know what time that's supposed to be?"

  
"He gave me an estimate of three o'clock," Harry answered, wincing as Niall shoved an entire quarter of his sandwich into his mouth at once. "Can you not eat like an animal, please?"

  
Niall just grinned around his mouthful and shook his head cheerfully. A car door slamming outside made both boys jump up, Harry running to the front door.

  
"Calm down, Harry," Niall laughed. Harry ignored him, throwing open the door to be greeted by a Liam with a very worried expression marring his features.

  
"I'm so sorry," Liam panted, as though he'd been running from the car. "I got caught up at home with Zayn and didn't leave until far after I'd planned and- Oh. Hi?"

  
"Liam, this is-"

  
"-I can introduce myself, Harry. I am a grown boy," Niall cut in. Harry bit back a laugh at the affronted look on Niall's face. He murmurred  _a take it away, then_ , and Niall stuck out his hand for Liam to shake. "Niall Horan, nice to finally make your acquaintence."

  
"Liam," Liam answered. Harry watched his two best friends shake hands and couldn't fight the smile that took over his face. "I've heard a lot about you."

  
"Have you?" Niall asked, looking to Harry. Harry looked abashed. "Did he tell you about the time I kissed 'im? He tells everybody that one."

  
"Oh yeah," Liam laughed. "I heard that one."

  
"Let's not be standing in the doorway anymore," Harry cut in, pushing his friends further into the bungalow and shutting the door behind them. Niall plopped back down on the rolling chair he'd pushed into the living room and Liam perched on the edge of the sofa. "Sorry I didn't warn you about Niall being over. He just kind of comes and goes like a stray cat."

  
Harry watched as Liam looked at Niall, expecting at the very least an affronted expression. Instead Niall shrugged and said, "I can't even argue. It's the truth."

  
Liam cracked a smile at the blond boy and turned back to Harry. "Are we doing anything or just hanging out this afternoon?"

  
"Eh, prolly staying in. I quit my job at the bakery a few months back-"

  
"-at  _Christmas_ , Harry. We haven't gone to the movies or mini-golf since  _Christmas-_ "

  
"-so I'm a bit broke apart from the small allowance my mum gives me," Harry finished, ignoring Niall's indignant interruption.

  
"Why'd you quit?" Liam wondered.

  
Harry shrugged, looking down at the floor.

  
"Some absolute cunts from school started coming in during his shifts and then kept asking for the manager because they-" Niall adopted a scrunched up mocking face here- "- _refused to be served by Fairy Harry_."

  
"Thanks, Ni, really," Harry muttered, "really appreciate it."

  
Niall shrugged, appearing uncaring that Harry obviously hadn't wanted anything to be said. "Anyways, lads, I've got to run. Me brother's in from uni and I've got to spend dinner with the fam. Call you later, Harry. And it was nice meeting you, Liam."

  
And with that, Niall left, leaving an embarrassed Harry behind.

  
"I'm sorry," Liam said softly, once the door had closed behind Niall. Harry shrugged and kept looking down at the floor beneath his feet. "You don't deserve that. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. It's disgusting."

  
"It's what they've started calling me, you know," Harry said. " _Fairy Harry_. Like it's so clever or something. Like it's going to break me or something."

  
Harry felt Liam scoot closer to him and then felt an arm around his shoulders. He tensed for a moment, and Liam pulled him in until his head rested on a broad shoulder. Harry slowly relaxed, feeling at ease for the first time in almost a year.

  
*

  
When Harry opened the door for Liam the next day he grinned widely and pulled his friend into a hug, shouting, "Liam! It's been so long since I've seen you!"

  
Liam hugged back and Harry felt the vibration of his laugh against his chest.

  
"Ready to get your pool cleaned?" Liam asked, a grin on his face. Harry just smiled back and lead the way to the backyard. When Liam returned from the shed with the cleaning supplies, he asked, "what are you doing after this? Hanging with Niall or anything?"

Harry shook his head. "No, nothing planned."

  
"Well," Liam said, as he started dragging the net through the pool, "I was thinking we should hang out here at the bungalow, like always. Set up pallets and order pizza and watch  _Friends_  and discuss our sad, sad lives."

  
Harry grinned widely, green eyes sparkling as he watched his friend work. "Sounds good."

  
Liam looked up and smiled back and Harry felt his stomach clench.  _God_ , he'd missed Liam.

  
*

  
"I've got a boyfriend," was the first thing Liam said once their pallet was set up and they'd made themselves comfortable. 

  
"Yeah?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice light. It felt like his heart was flying up into his throat and his stomach was dropping dropping dropping-

  
"Yeah. Um, you remember me telling you about Zayn, yeah?"

  
"Mhm."

  
"And how he never said like... What he was. What his sexuality was?"

  
"Mhm."

  
"Well, um, he's, bisexual, I guess? That's what he says, so. So. Yeah. And so we. Yeah. That's."

  
Harry nodded furiously, his hair flying in front of his eyes and hopefully hiding the wetness that had gathered there. 

  
Liam cleared his throat. "Um. Harry?"

  
Harry shook himself and looked up, pasting a smile on his face. "Sorry, no, that's. That's really great Liam. I'm really happy for you."

  
"You are?" Liam looked unsure.

  
"Absolutely," Harry assured. "I'm really happy for you."

  
They didn't talk about it for the rest of the night.

  
*

  
When Harry woke up the next morning, the space next to him was empty. He got up, rubbing his eyes, and looked around the bungalow, and when he found it empty as well, went to the front door to see if Liam's car was still outside. Instead he found a note taped to the door, and written in sloppy handwriting was  _sorry i left, uncle called gotta take more hours_. Harry ripped the note down and crumpled it, letting fall the tears he held in the night before.

  
*

  
"I'm sure he's not avoiding you," Niall said quietly. He and Harry sat side by side on Harry's bed, controllers in hand. "Maybe his uncle really did have to give him more hours."

  
"Yeah, but," Harry responded, "it's Sunday. The business is closed on weekends and he's still not answering my calls or texts."

  
"Does he usually?"

  
"We always text, Niall, you know that. He always answers like, straight away. And I don't think he'd ever missed my phone call before this. For the whole year we've both had cell phones."

  
Niall sighed. "What happened? What made it so awkward? I don't get it, Harry. You can't go from best friends to suddenly _it's too awkward to be around you so I'm going to make up excuses not to see you_."

  
Harry slumped his shoulders. "I don't wanna tell you."

  
" _Harry_."

  
"Don't make fun of me, please?"

  
"I can't make promises we both know I'll never keep, Harry," Niall joked. Harry paused the game so he could look at his friend seriously. "Okay. No making fun."

  
Harry breathed in deeply. "Liam got a boyfriend."

  
Niall blinked.

  
"Liam got a boyfriend and it made me realize that maybe all these years I haven't  _just_  found him physically attractive."

  
Niall blinked again.

  
"Are you really this slow, Niall?"

  
"No," Niall grinned, "I just wanna hear you admit it."

  
Harry heaved a sigh. "I like him as more that a friend, and my reaction when he told me was weird, and then we barely spoke the rest of the night. It was weird and awkward and awful and I've lost my best friend and-"

  
Niall's hands landed on Harry shoulders. Harry looked up into bright blue eyes and took a breath. "Calm down, Harry. You don't know any of that. Talk to him on Tuesday."

  
Harry nodded. He hadn't lost his best friend. At least not yet.

*

"I'm sorry," Harry blurted when he opened the door on Tuesday. Liam looked taken back.

  
"You're sorry?" Harry nodded. "Really? Because I was going to apologize to you. I've been horrible! I left without saying goodbye and I had all these hours because the other pool boy was ill and I lost my phone, couldn't find it anywhere and then this morning I found it under the seat of my car and saw I'd missed texts and calls and thought,  _oh no, Harry must hate me, I'm the absolute worst friend, where have my manners gone_ -"

  
Harry barked out a laugh of relief, and reached out, wrapping his arms around Liam's neck. He pulled his friend in tightly and sighed when Liam's arms came around his waist. Harry squeezed and released.

  
"I was sorry that I got awkward after you told me about Zayn. I was... Surprised, I guess. But I am happy for you, and I want to hear all about what happened."

  
Liam nodded, a small smile on his face, but Harry noticed the brown in his eyes wasn't quite sparkling.

  
"You wanna talk now?" Harry asked. "We can just pretend you cleaned the pool. No one has to know."

  
Liam gasped out, " _Harry_!" and Harry cackled.

  
"Oh my God, I was kidding," Harry choked out, and then, "But the look on your face, I wish I had a camera, how _Liam_ of you."

  
"I  _am_  Liam," Liam said, affronted.

  
Harry just repeated, " _How very Liam of you_."

  
*

  
"So he just asked you on a date?" Liam nodded. "Over text?" Liam nodded again. "That's it?"

  
"Yes, Harry. This isn't a Richard Sparks novel," Liam sighed.

  
"...Do you mean Nicholas Sparks?"

  
Liam groaned. "Is that really important? Point is, I didn't need some big romantic gesture. Sure, it would've been cute or something, but this is reality, not a romcom."

  
"Well," Harry replied, "I want a big romantic gesture. Especially the first kiss. Gotta have a lot of passion in that. That moment when finally everything is falling into place, all the tension just culminates and _boom!_  Kiss. And fireworks. Possibly that little foot kick from  _The Princess Diaries_."

  
"You," Liam answered, a sly grin on his face, "need to stop watching so many chick flicks."

  
Harry shrugged a shoulder. "It's all Niall. His favorite movie is  _27 Dresses_."

  
"And we're sure he's not gay?"

  
"He kissed me and didn't feel a thing," Harry said. "And seeing as I'm perfect and wonderful, the only conclusion I can come to is that he is 100% hetero."

  
Harry ignored the butterflies that attacked his stomach when Liam laughed loudly, and laughed along. He pretended like he didn't notice that now, the brown in Liam's eyes were sparkling again.

  
*

  
"So," Harry said to Liam, the day before he was set to leave. "You're applying for uni in Manchester, yeah?"

  
"Yeah," Liam answered, looking curious. "Why?"

  
Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Was thinking about applying there, too. Maybe... Maybe, if we both end up at schools near each other we could get a flat together? You know, always good to know someone you're rooming with. Safer and more comfortable, and that."

  
Liam stared.

  
"But if you don't want to, if you were planning... I mean, with Zayn or something, it's fine, I was just-"

  
"That sounds brilliant, Harry!"

  
Harry felt relief wash over him and he smiled. "Yeah?"

  
"Absolutely! Maybe we'll end up at the same school, too! With classes together! We can study together!"

  
Harry chortled at Liam's excitement. He pulled his best friend in for a tight hug, blinking back tears. "'m gonna miss you, Li."

  
"Gonna miss you, too, Harry," Liam whispered back. "I'll text you everyday, and I'll call you every weekend. We can try that new Skype thing, too."

  
"That's not new, Li," Harry giggled against Liam's neck.

  
"New to me," Liam cried indignantly. Harry giggled again before pulling back and wiping his eyes. "No crying, then I'll cry!"

  
"Sorry," Harry muttered. "Hate goodbyes."

  
"Maybe I'll come visit during winter hols or something," Liam suggested. Harry nodded with watery eyes. 

  
"You could... You could bring Zayn?"

  
Liam frowned. "Maybe."

  
Harry just nodded, confusion overtaken by sadness. "Can't wait 'til we're roomies."

  
Liam's smile returned. "Next year is going to be amazing, Harry. You and me against the world and all that. But I gotta go, now. Family's waiting."

  
Harry nodded again, waving as Liam got into his car and drove away. He waited until Liam had turned the corner before slowly walking back into the bungalow. He sat on the rolling chair Niall always stole and let out a long breath. He started when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and tapped a few buttons before a smile broke out on his face.

  
From: Liam

_Miss u alredy!_

  
_Yeah_ , Harry thought,  _miss you, too._

_\------------_

_u and zayn still coming for xmas?_

_will b there_

“What time will Liam and his boyfriend be here, Honey?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders and kept his focus on the telly. Now that the two boys were on their way, Harry was oddly nervous. He had been excited to see Liam, and he knew that it was the polite thing to do to invite Zayn as well. He couldn’t help to have hoped Liam would’ve come alone, but he understood. Really, he did.

That didn’t mean he had to like it.

The problem was, he’d seen Zayn. Zayn had been at Liam’s house a few times during Skype sessions and had said a quick hello. And Zayn was one of the most attractive people Harry had ever seen. There was no way anyone in their right mind would leave a guy that looked like that. Even if their best friend admitted to having some type of less-than-friendly feelings for them.

Harry knew he would never admit to Liam how he felt. He was sure when they got to uni he would meet some attractive girl or boy and fall for them and Liam would fall back to attractive best friend and flatmate and things would be fine.

For now, however, Harry had to deal with a visit from Liam and his boyfriend.

“Here’s the steaks, Harry,” his mum said, handing over a tray covered with foil. “Carry those down and Robin will be behind you with the potatoes. Fridge is already stocked with drinks. You boys have a lovely evening and I’ll see you in two days, yes?”

“Yeah, Mum,” Harry replied, standing from the sofa and taking the tray. “See you later. I love you.”

“Love you, too,” she answered before bustling back to the kitchen. Harry left the house and made the short walk to the bungalow, surprised to see Liam’s car pull up just as he made it to the front door. He grinned widely at the sight of his friend. Liam jumped out of the car and rushed over to the door.

“You need help?”

Harry glanced over his shoulder at Zayn, who was standing awkwardly beside the boot of the car.

“Uh, just unlock the door for me? Keys are in my front pocket. Then you should probably help Zayn. He looks a little lost.”

Liam looked back at his boyfriend quickly and then reached into Harry’s pocket, plucking the keys out and shoving the first one he grabbed into the lock. He sighed in relief when it worked and pushed open the door for Harry.

Harry immediately stepped into the bungalow and made his way to the kitchen to set the tray in the oven to keep warm, then headed back outside. Liam and Zayn were grabbing bags from the boot of the car and Robin was walking up to the door with a large bowl in his hands.

“Potatoes!”

“Potatoes!” Liam repeated happily, causing Harry to cackle. Liam smiled widely at him and closed the lid on the car, nodding his head for Zayn to follow. The four of them made their way into the bungalow and to the kitchen.

“Alright, boys,” Robin said, placing the bowl on the counter. “You’ve got steaks and potatoes and soft drinks and a whole two nights for yourselves. The pantry and fridge are stocked so you can manage for food tomorrow. I’ll see you in a few days, Harry.”

“Bye, Robin,” Harry said, giving his step-dad a quick hug and then turning to the boys. “Oh, the spare bedroom is back down the hallway, you can put your stuff in there.”

“I’ll lead the way,” Liam said to Zayn, smile still planted on his face. Zayn just nodded and followed. Harry sighed as soon as the two were out of earshot. He already felt awkward and tense. He sensed it would be a long two days.

*

Harry quickly discovered that Zayn doesn’t talk much.

Harry is used to Niall, who never stops talking, is constantly loud and boisterous and shares his opinion on everything. And Harry is used to Liam, who isn’t quite as loud but still likes to have conversations about anything and everything, who laughs and jokes and isn’t awkward during silences.

Zayn isn’t like Niall or Liam.

The three boys sat in the living room on the couch, the telly set on a mindless talk show. Harry had hoped that Zayn’s quietness had just been because they were eating. Not many people (apart from Niall) enjoy talking with their mouth full.

But when they sat down and Harry asked what the boys wanted to do, Liam immediately jumped in with ideas. Zayn watched.

It was odd, talking to Liam and being watched so intently by Liam’s boyfriend. It made Harry feel like he was being judged, and he wasn’t sure what the criteria was. But from the look in Zayn’s eyes, he was probably failing.

“So we should definitely go and see that tomorrow afternoon,” Liam said about some movie he’d wanted to see. He paused and looked at Zayn. “What do you think, Zayn?”

Zayn shrugged.

“Wow, Zayn,” Harry said, trying to make his voice light and casual. “You sure do talk a lot!”

Zayn just stared at Harry for a moment before shrugging and turning toward the television. Liam laughed.

“That’s funny, Harry,” he pointed out. Zayn continued staring at the screen. Harry wanted to crawl out of his skin. “Harry, did I tell you that I got that new webcam I wanted for Christmas? The one that actually stays on the top of my laptop instead of slipping off like the old one.”

“Oh, really?” Harry responded, desperate for any kind of conversation.

“Yes,” Liam said. “It’s quite nice, actually. The picture quality is better, too. It’s… What was it called, Zayn? I forget.”

“You don’t usually talk so much,” Zayn said instead of answering the question. The silence that followed felt deafening to Harry’s ears. Zayn shook his head and stood. “I’ve got to use the loo. Where is it, again?”

“Um, the door to the left of the spare room, mate,” Harry replied. Zayn nodded and left. Liam and Harry sat in an awkward silence until Liam sighed quietly.

“We don’t talk much when we’re together,” Liam admitted softly. “We just. I mean, we discuss the important things and then we’re just. We’re quiet, I guess. In our own worlds.”

“That’s…” Harry paused, looking for the right word. “That’s not good, mate. Relationships thrive on communication. It’s vital, really.”

Liam nodded despondently. Harry reached over and patted his back, pushing back the celebratory thoughts in his mind about Liam’s relationship not being healthy. He needed to be there for his friend, not be selfish about his own feelings. Harry tried to think of something comforting to say and came up blank. He wanted to ask how Liam felt about their lack of communication but was interrupted when Zayn returned to the living room.

Zayn sat back down on the sofa next to Liam and Harry grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the telly. The night was spent in uncomfortable silence.

*

“It was really hilarious, wasn’t it, Zayn?”

Liam looked at Zayn who just shrugged and picked at the scrambled egg on his plate.

“Come on, Zayn,” Harry prodded, “It sounds like it was really funny.”

“Eh,” Zayn finally said. “Liam’s got a weird sense of humor.”

Harry frowned as Liam looked down at his breakfast plate, cheeks flushed and lips curved downward. Harry felt his heart lurch uncomfortably. He wished Liam would stick up for himself against any comment like that.

“Nah,” Harry disagreed, his tone light but his words serious. “I think Liam’s hilarious. Funnier than Niall, even. That’s saying a lot. Niall’s funny.”

Liam lifted his head again and smiled softly at Harry. “Niall’s very funny.”

Harry smiled back. Zayn shoved a forkful of egg in his mouth.

“Are you-“ Zayn started and then stopped. “Is that- Like, you’re saying that to make me sound like a douche, yeah?”

Harry blanched at Zayn’s blunt words.

“No, I- I’m just, I was saying what I think?” Harry responded nervously. He didn’t want to fight with Zayn, especially with Liam sitting there awkwardly staring, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

“Zayn,” he said quietly, and Zayn laughed humorlessly.

“I’m going to go use the loo,” Harry mumbled, quickly leaving the kitchen and stopping when he reached the living room. He shut his eyes tightly and stood, listening to the conversation happening on the other side of the wall.

“So you’re not going to defend me?”

Harry held his breath and waited for Liam’s voice. It was calmer than Zayn’s, but sounded more nervous. “Defend what? I’m not going to get in an argument with my best friend over something so stupid-“

“Oh, I’m stupid, now?”

“I didn’t- Zayn, I didn’t say that, you’re twisting my words!”

“No, I’m not. I’m stupid and not worth fighting over. That’s really great, Liam. Nice to know where I rank.”

And then Zayn stormed through the living room without sparing Harry a second glance. Liam wondered out a minute later and stopped in front of Harry, cheeks red.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologized. Harry shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to start anything, honestly.”

Zayn came back out, bag thrown over his shoulder.

“It was really nice of you to invite us, Harry. I think we’re going to head back, now.”

Harry nodded at Zayn who looked at Liam. Then he exited the front door.

Liam mumbled something under his breath and then looked to Harry. “I guess I’ll see you at the beginning of summer, then. We’ll go flat hunting together.”

“Li, we haven’t even gotten acceptance letters yet,” Harry reminded him, but couldn’t help the smile that fought its way onto his lips.

“We will. Anyway, I guess I should go get my stuff and head out. I’m really sorry this happened.”

Harry nodded as Liam headed into the spare room and returned a few minutes later with his own bag. He gave Harry a quick hug and headed to the front door. “I’ll Skype you with my new camera when I get home, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ll be waiting!”

Liam grinned and left, shutting the door softly behind him. Harry collapsed onto the sofa and let out a long sigh. He couldn’t wrap his head around what had happened.

Five minutes hadn’t passed when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and opened the text that appeared from Liam.

_sorry about zayn idk y he was like that_

_its ok all couples have fights_

_yeah I suppose_

Harry didn’t reply to the last message, just pocketed his phone and headed back to his house.

“What are you doing here, young man? You have guests,” his mother said when he walked in the door.

“They uh,” Harry paused awkwardly. “They had to leave early.”

“Oh no,” his mum tutted, “Did something happen?”

Harry just shrugged and headed upstairs and set his webcam up, signing into Skype and waiting for Liam to return home.

*

“We broke up,” was the first thing Liam said when the Skype window opened up.

“Shit, Liam, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

Liam sighed. “Like, we got in the car and I just. I felt bad so I texted you that I was sorry. And he freaked out about it, like ‘why are you texting him? You’re with me but you can’t spare a minute to talk to me, instead you have to text him. And you wouldn’t defend me, Liam. What, do you care more about him than you do about me?’ And I told him, I was like, ‘Zayn, he’s my  _best friend_!’ and so he says, ‘yeah, but I’m your boyfriend of over a year,  I kind of thought that made me important, too’. And I didn’t know what to do or say, you know? I’ve never really fought with someone I care about so I just sat there for the rest of the ride home. And it was awkward and silent and horrible. I could tell he was mad but I thought he would go home and do something artsy and then call me and we’d be fine. But when we got to his house to drop him off he was just like ‘don’t call me anymore, Liam. Call your  _best friend_  instead’. And he said it so judgmental like and it really hurt my feelings so I didn’t argue, I just went home. And then I got on Skype. Which is where we are now. So yeah. That’s what happened.”

Harry stared in silence for a moment. “I didn’t mean to be the cause of your break up, Liam.”

“No, it’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself, Harry. We just weren’t good together. We never talked and it was… It was out of convenience more than anything. I’m more upset that I won’t have a friend anymore here. Back to being a loner, really.”

“I can’t wait 'til we live together,” Harry said finally, after a minute of silence between the two.

“Yeah,” Liam agreed, a small smile forming on his face. “Me either.”

*

_niall is making fun of my bum_

_why???_

_says it looks like a pancake_

_lol it does u have no bum_

_liam u wound me_

*

_got my letter_

_me 2 did u get in???_

_yep did u_

_yes!!! need to make plans 2 look at flats in the city soon_

_so excited 2 c u again liam_

_me 2 harry i miss u cant wait til were roomies!!_

_1 month til summer then 1 month til we move in were so close!!! miss u 2_

_ok….. call me tonite??? being sappy wanna here ur voice_

_:)  
  
\-----------_

“This flat has two bedrooms and one bath, and the rent is right in your price range. It’s about 3 kl from the campus and has great security, including the gate we passed through and constant surveillance. It’s inhabited mostly by university students like yourselves. There is a swimming pool with a Jacuzzi and a gym near the lobby. The flat we’ll be seeing today is on the ground floor.”

Harry listened to what the realtor was saying but most of her words flew in one ear and out the other. Luckily, Liam seemed to be paying rapt attention to the details she was sprouting. The two boys followed their realtor, Lisa, out of the car and up a small landing of three concrete steps, where they were met with a corridor, doors lining each side of the wall.

“We’re at,” Lisa paused, looking at the key in her hand, “102. Right here, boys.”

The door was the first on the right. Lisa pushed the key into the slot and turned, opening the door wide enough for Harry and Liam to follow.

The flat was spacious enough. It was empty but Harry and Liam together had furniture to fill it with.

“This is the living space, boys. Right through here,” she led them through the room and off to the side, “is the kitchen. It’s already stocked with a refrigerator and dishwasher, so no need to worry about either of those. The kitchen is slightly small, as you can see, but the living area and bedrooms make up for that. Right through that door,” she pointed to a door at the end of the kitchen, “is the washer and dryer. Let’s head back through here and to the bedrooms.”

The boys followed her back out of the kitchen to the living room where she led them to a hallway. Right in front of them were three doors, spaced evenly apart.

“This middle door is the bathroom. It connects to both bedrooms but there are locks on all three handles. You’ve got a lovely shower tub, sink, and toilet, along with a nicely sized linen closet.”

Liam looked around the bathroom, opening the closet and examining. Harry stood outside the door. He’d seen seven different bathrooms in seven different flats in one day, and he still had to make the drive back to Holmes Chapel. He couldn’t find it in him to care about this bathroom.

“How are you liking it so far?”

Lisa looked to Liam and not Harry. Liam had found something wrong with each flat they’d seen, whereas Harry could see himself living in any of them, as long as Liam was with him. He wouldn’t say that out loud, though. Instead he listened to Liam turn down each flat.

“It’s quite nice. I liked the living room and this bathroom is really nice. Are the bedrooms equally sized?”

“Yes, sir. Would you like to see them now?”

“Yes, please,” Liam answered, and Harry fought back a snort at Liam’s manners. Liam heard him, though, and stuck his tongue out at him behind Lisa’s back.

“Not finding anything wrong with this one yet? The carpet isn’t ‘too beige’?” Harry whispered in Liam’s ear as Lisa chattered on about the bedrooms.

“You have to admit, Harry,” Liam said exasperatedly, “that was a really odd shade of beige.”

Lisa pushed open the door to the bedroom on the left and led Harry and Liam in.

“As you can see, there’s a closet on the far wall, and here’s the door to the bathroom. The other bedroom is an exact replica. Would you like to see it as well?”

“Um,” Liam looked to Harry who shrugged. “No, thank you. Could we have a moment, though?”

“Absolutely,” Lisa smiled and Harry knew it was because this was the farthest they’d gotten in their flat hunting adventure in any flat.

“Do you like it?”

Harry looked at the way Liam was biting his lip, at the way his brown eyes were lit up and crinkled at the corners. He grinned and felt his heart speed up in his chest.

“I love it. I can see us living here.”

“Yeah,” Liam agreed, “me too. I think. I think we should get this one, Harry. I want to live here with you.”

Harry breathed out harshly at the words. “Yeah, Liam. Yeah, I want to live here with you, too.”

*

It was a month later before Harry and Liam were ready to move into the flat they’d chosen, and Harry stood in the living room of his childhood home watching his mother cry.

“Please stop, Mum,” he begged, looking frantically at Gemma for help. She held her hands up as if to say, ‘ _I’m not a part of this_ ’ and backed away. “It’s only an hour away, at the most. I’ll call you every night and I’ll visit on weekends all the time.”

“I just,” Anne sniffled, “can’t believe I’m losing my baby.”

Gemma coughed loudly. Harry snorted.

“Everything in the car?” Robin asked as he stepped down the last few stairs. Harry nodded and Anne cried harder. “We’ve only got enough room in the trailer for those two tables and your dresser, so you’ll have to wait until next weekend for your bed. That okay?”

“’s fine,” Harry answered. “I’ll bunk with Li or something.”

“Alright then, let’s go.”

The drive wasn’t a long one, but it felt like hours to Harry, who texted Liam the entire distance. Liam and his parents were on their way to the flat as well, but were closer than Harry and would be there sooner.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until closer to term to move in, Harry?”

“ _Mum_ ,” he groaned.

“I just don’t want you to be alone so far away from us…”

“Liam’s there! I am living with Liam, in case you forgot,” Harry corrected.

“I worry that you boys will make separate friends and have separate classes and have separate lives and that this is a bad idea,” Anne looked worriedly into the backseat at her son who had widened his eyes at the thought of Liam having a life separate from him.

“I think you’ve given him a heart attack,” Gemma joked, punching her brother on the arm. Harry choked.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Anne apologized, reaching back to grab his hand. She squeezed his long fingers between hers. “I’m a mum, I worry about everything.”

“I don’t,” Harry cleared his throat when the words stuck, “I don’t have anything to worry about with Liam. We’re best friends; we’ve been best friends for years living in separate towns. We’ll be fine.”

Anne smiled and Harry wished he believed his own words.

*

“Harry!”

Harry couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face as he spotted Liam outside their front door, waving and shouting. He jumped out of the car as soon as it was pulled into the spot and rushed up the concrete steps to embrace Liam in a hug.

“Missed you,” he mumbled into Liam’s neck, eyes closed and breathing in deeply.

“’s only been a month, Harry,” Liam chuckled softly, tightening his grip on Harry’s waist.

“Still missed you.”

“Missed you, too,” Liam muttered. Harry bit his lip; he knew the hug had gone on for longer than a normal hug between friends but he didn’t want to let go. Liam didn’t seem to be moving either, though, so he tried not to think, instead focusing on the feeling of Liam’s strong arms around his waist, the way his breath tickled his ear-

“Get a room,” Gemma’s voice broke them apart. Harry could feel heat rushing into his cheeks but Gemma just laughed, walking past them with a box of Harry’s stuff in her arms. “And open the door, please?”

“Oh, of course, I’m so sorry, how terribly rude of me,” Liam babbled, pushing open the door and letting Gemma in. Harry looked over her shoulder and into the flat. The couch was already in place, along with a small table with an even smaller television placed on it. A middle aged couple was sitting on the couch, and Harry assumed they were Liam’s parents.

“I haven’t met your parents yet, Li,” Harry whispered, suddenly nervous. “What if they hate me and make you move out?”

Liam laughed quietly. “I already signed the lease, Harry.”

Harry breathed out. “Right.”

“Come on,” Liam said, grabbing Harry’s hand and dragging him inside. “Mum, Dad, this is Harry.”

“Hullo,” Harry waved, standing awkwardly in the doorway. He could hear Liam snickering next to him. He thought about elbowing him in the ribs but wasn’t sure if that was impolite to do in front of his parents.

Before Liam’s parents could answer, Anne and Robin were behind Harry, shoving at him with boxes in their arms.

“Harold, these are your boxes we’re unpacking, why is it we’re the ones carrying them? Go to the car and grab one, please.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry sighed, trudging to the car. Liam followed.

“Can’t believe we’re finally moving in. It feels surreal, doesn’t it?”

Harry nodded, grabbing a box from the boot of the car.

“I’ll get the last one,” Liam offered, reaching in and picking up the final box. He set it on the ground and closed the lid of the boot. “The furniture in the trailer?”

Harry nodded and began the walk back to the door.

“Did you pick a room?”

“Yeah, I went ahead and took the one on the left. I figured it didn’t really matter,” Liam replied as they stepped through the front door. Harry agreed and quickly walked into his new room, dumping the box on the floor while Liam softly placed his next to it. “Hope nothing breakable was in there.”

Harry shrugged. “Too excited about finally being here to really care. Feels like my whole life has been kind of building up to this moment, you know?”

Liam stared at him for a quick moment before nodding, bowing his head to look at the floor with a small smile before looking back up and saying, “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

*

“Can’t believe Niall ended up twenty minutes away from us,” Liam said as he and Harry sat on the couch that evening. Their parents had left a few hours before after a dinner of pizza and soda at the boys’ new dining table that stood awkwardly between the kitchen and the living room.

“I can’t believe Niall got accepted to uni,” Harry answered. Liam laughed and Harry watched as his eyes lit up. He sat next to Liam and thought back to when Liam belonged to someone else, Zayn, for so long, and how much Harry wished Liam belonged to him instead. He couldn’t fathom why Zayn would ever let Liam go. Harry knew if he had Liam, even the tiniest part of him, he would hold on for dear life.

“What are you thinking about? You look all pensive and thoughtful,” Liam’s voice was quiet and Harry realized not for the first time since they’d sat down how close they were, thighs brushing together and arms only inches apart.

Harry thought about lying.

But then he thought about all the other times he’d lied to Liam. Or, at least not told the truth. The times he pretended to be happy that Liam was with Zayn. The times he pretended not to be jealous. Every time he smiled at Liam and pretended not to be in love with him. And Harry decided for once he wanted to tell the truth.

“I was wondering how the hell Zayn let you go.”

“ _Harry_ ,” Liam whispered, biting his lip and turning just slightly, until Harry could see the golden flecks in his eyes.

“I just-“ he paused, biting the inside of his cheek. He didn’t want to say something stupid but everything he’d felt for so many years was bubbling to the surface- “I don’t get it. He had you and he didn’t care enough to keep you. I mean, he had you,  _you_ , and he just fucking let you go and I don’t understand how he could do that.”

“He…” Liam looked down at his hands where they were clasped together in his lap. “He thought I had feelings for you.”

“Oh,” Harry choked out, staring at Liam’s hands as well. His heart was pounding in his chest, so loudly he was sure Liam could hear it. Silence fell between them for what felt like forever but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds before Harry looked back up and found Liam’s eyes trained on him. He knew Liam could see the hope in his eyes, knew he wouldn’t be able to hide it even if he wanted to (for the first time, right in that moment with Liam looking at him like that, he didn’t want to hide anything), and asked, “do you?”

Liam’s eyes softened and Harry couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see anything or hear anything or feel anything more than  _LiamLiamLiam_.

“God, Harry,” Liam breathed, “of  _course_  I do.”

And Harry wasn’t sure who moved first but Liam’s hands were suddenly on his waist and neck, pulling, and Harry was in his lap, clutching Liam’s shirt and straddling his legs. Harry looked down at Liam, slowly lowering his face until their noses brushed, mouths breathing the same air between them. Their lips hadn’t even touched but they were both panting, air hot and stifling. Liam’s eyes were locked onto Harry’s and Harry couldn’t keep his own open any longer, couldn’t keep staring because it was too much, because Liam was everywhere and everything and right  _here_ -

“Wanted you so long,” Liam whispered, and the words floated between them for only a moment before Harry finally closed the distance, pressing his lips softly to Liam’s. He barely used any pressure, just a light brushing of lips, before pulling back slightly and breathing out. Liam pushed forward, connecting their lips again, harder this time. He pulled his fingers through the curls at the base of Harry’s neck, bringing him closer. Harry dragged his hands up and clutched onto Liam’s shoulders, needing balance when everything else in his world was spinning. Harry gasped when he felt Liam’s teeth softly nipping at his bottom lip, and as soon as his mouth opened Liam’s tongue pushed inside.

“Fuck,” Harry breathed when their lips separated. “God, Li. What happened to not knowing how to kiss?”

Liam laughed breathlessly and Harry opened his eyes. His stomach clenched pleasantly at the sight of Liam’s blown pupils, the pink in his cheeks, the swelling of his lips.

“Wanted you to be my first kiss,” Liam said softly. Their lips were mere breaths apart, noses brushing, foreheads pressed together. Harry softly kneaded the back of Liam’s neck. “Hinted at it all summer. Wanted you to kiss me so bad.”

Harry briefly thought of the summer Liam had spent worrying about not having had his first kiss. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to kick himself for being so stupid.

“I regretted not kissing you that year,” he mumbled. “Regretted not kissing you every year. Always wanted you, Li.”

Liam nodded, eyes hooded, before he pressed forward again. Harry sighed into the kiss, relaxing into Liam’s hold. It wasn’t long before Harry’s mouth opened again and Liam’s tongue pressed inside, licking into his mouth. Harry groaned and felt himself begin to harden. He hated doing it but he pulled back, breathing hard and trying to calm down.

“What?” Liam’s voice sounded wrecked, lower than usual and Harry felt it down to his toes.

“Just-“ Harry paused, leaning farther into Liam’s arms, his head falling into his neck, breathing in the scent there and closing his eyes. “Don’t want to rush into that right now. We can just. We can just sit here, yeah?”

Liam’s arms tightened around his back and Harry smiled.

“Is it too soon-“ Liam’s voice rang out in the silence between Harry’s heartbeats. There was a pause where Liam cleared his throat and then began again. “Is it too soon to tell you I’m in love with you?”

Harry breathed out against Liam’s neck, pressing a soft kiss against the skin and smiling when he felt the goosebumps that rose in its wake.

“It’s not,” Harry answered, the words muffled.

“What?”

Harry laughed and lifted his head, meeting Liam’s eyes. They were brighter than he’d ever seen them.

“It’s not. I love you, too. Probably since the first time you ever cleaned my pool.”

“Shut up, you have not,” Liam grinned, playfully shoving. Harry gasped, affronted.

“Excuse you, Liam Payne, you do not know my feelings,” Harry argued and Liam scoffed.

They were quiet for a moment, green locked on brown, before Liam asked, “have you really loved me since the first time I cleaned your pool?”

Harry laughed. “No.”

“Harry!”

Harry laughed harder and Liam pushed him off. Harry gasped but Liam followed him, pushing himself over and onto the boy beneath him. He threaded his fingers through the curls at Harry’s forehead and Harry sighed quietly.

“Wasn’t the first time you cleaned the pool. But it didn’t take very long. Don’t think I really knew it at the time, but. It’s just kind of always been there for me.”

Liam nodded. “Me, too. You’re like. You’re  _it_  for me, you know?”

Harry didn’t answer, didn’t say just how sure he was that Liam was it for him. He just lifted his head to catch Liam’s lips in another kiss and hoped that was enough.  

 


End file.
